Automatic wrench.



A. O. BUGKIUS, JR. AUTOMATIC WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 13, 1914.

Patented Nov. 17, 1914.

THE. NORRIS PETERS C0,. PHum-LlT/IO wASHINmuN. n. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT O. BUCKIUS, JR., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO CHICAGO MANUFAC- TURING AND DISTRIBUTING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. February 13, 1914. Serial No. 818,437. I

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT O. BUCKIUS, Jr.', a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Wrenches, of which the following is a specification and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof. 1

The invention relates to wrenches and more particularly to those comprising-a head having relatively movable jaws and a handle with provision for closing the jaws upon-the article to which the wrench is to be applied by swinging the handle, in the direction in which the article is to be turned, and .for opening the jaws by swinging the handle in the reverse direction.

The object of the invention is to provide a wrench of the kind described which shall be of simple construction and effective in operation.

It is well known that nuts and similar flat sided articles which are of small size, deviate less from a round form than do those-of larger size and that, therefore, the greater difliculty is experienced in securing the firm engagement of a wrench with a flat sided article of small size. The invention accordingly contemplates a wrench of the type described in which the closing of the jaws, by the swinging of the handle, is

accompanied by an increase of leverage as the jaws approach the closed position.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view showing a wrench embodying the features of improvement provided by the invention, the same being applied to a nut of relatively large size and a side plate of the wrench head being removed and a detail of the handle being broken away; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the wrench, and

Fig. 3 is a side view of the wrench,showing the position of the parts when the jaws are closed.

The wrench illustrated in the drawings comprises a head generally designated at 10, and a handle 11. The head 10 preferably comprises a fixed jaw 12, and a movable jaw 13. The body portion of the head 10 includes a pair of side plates 14 and 15 one of which, as 14, is formed integral with the fixed jaw 12, and the other of which, as 15, is removably secured thereto. As

shown, the removable side plate 15, has an extension 16 which conforms to and is secured directlyag'ainst the adjacent side of the fixed jaw 12, as by a rivet 17. The side plates 14 and 15 are also connectedby rivets 18 and19,'one of which, as 19, serves as'a pivot for the handle 11. Preferably both'of the rivets 18 and '19 are shouldered, as indicated at 20, Fig. 1, whereby they serve forrigidlyconnecting the two side plates while still holding them a suficient distance apart to receive theend of thehandle and other movable parts of the wrench between them. 7 I

The movable jaw 13 has an integral shank 21 which slides between the side plates 14 the adjacent end of the handle operate as a toggle with increase of leverage as the jaw 13 aproaches the closed position. As shown the shank 21 of the movable jaw 13 has a rearward extension 25 adjacent one end of the same and this extension, as also the adjacent end of the handle 11, are bifurcated, as indicated at 27, to receive the corresponding ends of the link 24 between their respective parts. Pins, as 28, and 29 pass through the two parts of the extension 25 and of the bifurcated end of the handle 11, respectively, and serve for connecting the corresponding ends of the link with said parts. As the pins 28 and 29 are located between the side plates 14 and 15 at all times when the parts of the wrench have been assembled, these side plates serve to prevent longitudinal displacement of the pins and no other mechanism is required for holding the pins in engagement with the parts which they serve to connect. To limit the swinging of the handle 11, the inner end of the opening between the parts of its bifurcated end 27 slopes in opposite directions from the median line of the handle, as indicated at 30 and 31 for engagement with the adjacent sides of the link 24 when the jaw 13, occupies its open and closed positions, respectively.

Fig. 1 shows the positions of the parts when the wrench is applied to a relatively large nut, as X, for turning the same to the right. In this figure, the jaws 12 and 13 are shown to be widely separated and the parts so arranged that the movement of the handle 11 in the direction to turn the nut, X, to the right also tends to swing the handle upon the pivot 19, for closing the jaws upon the nut. It will be understood that for turning the nut X to the left, the wrench should be applied to the same other side up, that is, with the jaw 12 against the under side of the nut as viewed in this figure and the jaw 13 against the upper side of the nut.

lVhen the wrench is applied to a small nut, as Y (Fig. 3) the handle 11 swung upon the pivot 19 to bring the jaws 12 and 13 close together. In this position of the parts the link 24 extends at a much more obtuse angle from the line of the handle 11 than in Fig. 1. The link 24; and the adjacent end of the handle accordingly act as a toggle for closing the jaws 12 and 13 upon the nut Y when the handle 11 is moved in the direction to turn the nut. The arrange ment accordingly provides for closing the jaws 12 and 13 upon a small nut, as Y, with greater power than upon a larger nut, as X.

I claim as my invention,

In a wrench, in eombination, a pair of relatively movable jaws, a pair of side plates rigid with one of the jaws and extending rearwardly therefrom, one of said side plates being removable, an intermediate plate rigid with the other jaw sliding between the side plates, the intermediate plate and one of the side plates having a cooperating guide groove and rib, a pivot post rigidly connecting the side plates, a handle pivotally mounted on said post and swinging in the space between the plates, a link extending between the handle and the said intermediate plate and a pin uniting each end of the link and one of the last mentioned parts, the engagement of the ends of the pins with the said side plates being the only means for preventing longitudinal displacement of the pins.

ALBERT O. BUCKIUS, JR.

Witnesses CI-IARLns B. GILLsoN, E. M. KLATQI-IER.

(Joples of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

